Enchanting ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ in Syracuse grounds a community onstage and off (review)

While the Israeli-Hamas war in Gaza is thousands of miles away from CNY Playhouse’s “Fiddler on the Roof,” the two are rooted in the same soil of religious intolerance. Scenes of displacement, destruction, and death have filled the news in real life for two months; onstage, those outcomes are only implied. Yet current events have thrust this perennially-popular musical — which first debuted on Broadway in 1964 — into contemporary context. If the cast, crew, and production team feel burdened by that added pressure, none of that shows onstage. Despite its difficult themes, the blended comedy and drama of “Fiddler” make for an enchanting show, and in this CNYP production, care and craft aplenty are evident at every level — from the acting, musicianship, and costuming to the simple and effective set design.

CNYP partnered with the Jewish Community Center for this production. CNYP president and director Nic MaLane explained in the show’s virtual playbill, “our production team wanted to ensure that we honored the legacy of Fiddler… [by] involv[ing] as many Jewish voices as we could in the process.” With a cast of 37 and a 10-person orchestra led by music director Erica Moser, that also meant “ensur[ing] that the non-Jewish members of our cast and crew were educated on the religion and culture of the people they were portraying.” With book by Joseph Stein, music by Jerry Bock, and lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, “Fiddler” explores religious persecution, interfaith marriage, intergenerational conflict, and immigration through the eyes of a Jewish family living in Russia in the early 1900s.